There is a lot to say about any "work of art," including the "art" you've "found" on the Cypress College campus. Here are some traditional ways of talking about art:
Description
Description of your artwork, it's subject matter and the elements you see:
Basic Information
You should include information on your artwork such as:
Artist - Name, Nationality, Dates of Birth & Death
Artwork - Title, Date, Dimensions, Medium & Technique
Museum - How and when did this museum acquire this work? Where was it before? Is the history of the work from the artist's hand all the way to this museum in 2008 known?
Formal Elements
Describe how the artist uses the elements of art within this piece:
Line
Space
Color, Color Scheme, Complementary Colors? Analogous Colors?
Texture
Light & Dark, Value, Contrast
Shape, Volume, Mass
Time & Motion
Design Principles
Describe how the artist uses the principles of design within this piece:
Emphasis / Focal Point
Balance, Symmetry, Asymmetry
Scale & Proportion
Unity & Variety
Rhythm, Repetition
Content & Meaning
Context, Content, Meaning:
Cultural & Historical Context of your piece
Can you categorize it within a stylistic period?
What is the content? What is going on?
Aside from any literal narrative, does your work have a subtext?
Is the artwork open and inviting of various interpretations? Or does it have an integrity that resists arbitrary or capricious readings?
Are there themes in this work? Is there symbolism? Iconography?
What do you think the artist wants the viewer to feel?
What is the meaning of the work? What is the artist trying to say? Is s/he successful?
I and the Village, Marc Chagall
1911, oil on canvas, about 6.5' x 5', Museum of Modern Art, New York
Here's a sample of the "official story:"
From Janson's History of Art: The Western Tradition 7th Ed by Davies et. al. Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007
"...Russian Marc Chagall (1887-1985)... embraced Cubist structure in many of his works. With its ability to juxtapose and integrate the most disparate objects, Cubism was a perfect tool for creating dreamlike, fantasy worlds. Chagall grew up in the Jewish quarter of Vitebsk, and his paintings evoke simpler times, values, and rituals. In 1910, Chagall moved to Paris, where he immediately converted to Cubism, as seen in I and the Village. But this dream is hardly a cubist intellectual dissection of form. Using the saturated colors of a stained-glass window and the simple shapes of Russian folk art, Chagall conjures up the most elemental issues of life itself. Man and animal are equated in almost mirrorlike symmetry, and the translucent, ephemeral quality of their heads makes the scene appear ethereal and mystical. The circular composition symbolizes the cycle of life, with birth as the blooming bush and death as the farmer carrying a scythe. Chagall adamantly denied any links to storytelling or fairytales in his paintings. Instead his dreamscapes are a cubist kaleidoscope of objects and incidents he considered to be of elemental significance."
Personal Narrative
The Janson text on this painting is excellent. Still there are other perspectives / other responses, possible to this work. Here is an excellent personal "read" of the same painting from a New York museum goer: Right-click to download MP3
Audio Tours: Ideas for / Ways of Doing
"Official" Story
Table of Contents
Description
Description of your artwork, it's subject matter and the elements you see:Basic Information
You should include information on your artwork such as:Formal Elements
Describe how the artist uses the elements of art within this piece:Design Principles
Describe how the artist uses the principles of design within this piece:Content & Meaning
Context, Content, Meaning:I and the Village, Marc Chagall
1911, oil on canvas, about 6.5' x 5', Museum of Modern Art, New York
Here's a sample of the "official story:"
From Janson's History of Art: The Western Tradition 7th Ed by Davies et. al. Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007
"...Russian Marc Chagall (1887-1985)... embraced Cubist structure in many of his works. With its ability to juxtapose and integrate the most disparate objects, Cubism was a perfect tool for creating dreamlike, fantasy worlds. Chagall grew up in the Jewish quarter of Vitebsk, and his paintings evoke simpler times, values, and rituals. In 1910, Chagall moved to Paris, where he immediately converted to Cubism, as seen in I and the Village. But this dream is hardly a cubist intellectual dissection of form. Using the saturated colors of a stained-glass window and the simple shapes of Russian folk art, Chagall conjures up the most elemental issues of life itself. Man and animal are equated in almost mirrorlike symmetry, and the translucent, ephemeral quality of their heads makes the scene appear ethereal and mystical. The circular composition symbolizes the cycle of life, with birth as the blooming bush and death as the farmer carrying a scythe. Chagall adamantly denied any links to storytelling or fairytales in his paintings. Instead his dreamscapes are a cubist kaleidoscope of objects and incidents he considered to be of elemental significance."
Personal Narrative
The Janson text on this painting is excellent. Still there are other perspectives / other responses, possible to this work. Here is an excellent personal "read" of the same painting from a New York museum goer:Right-click to download MP3
Or, click to play now: